A skin tensiometer is described for measuring the tension in a portion of skin at a body site and, more particularly, a skin tensiometer which may inform a doctor of skin tension during a surgical procedure such as a facelift.
It is necessary during some surgical procedures to determine the tension of a portion of the skin. This is particularly true during a facelift procedure wherein the tension or tautness in a portion of the skin is enhanced as a part of the procedure. Typically, a surgeon will simply using her fingers to evaluate skin tension. The goal is to avoid either too tight of skin that can strain against ligatures, causing edema and scarring or, too loose of skin that diminishes the aesthetic outcome desired.
A skinfold skin tension measuring apparatus is used for self-measurement of the thickness of a subcutaneous layer of fat to obtain the body fat percentage of a person. The skinfold skin tension measuring apparatus has a pair of rigid arms pivotally connected at one end with opposed clamping surfaces at the other end. The rigid arms can be pivoted for moving the clamping surfaces between open and closed positions. The skin tension measuring apparatus is used by grasping a skinfold with the opposed clamping surfaces by compressing the arms toward one the closed position. The skin fold skin tension measuring apparatus pull the subcutaneous layer of fat away from the underlying muscle tissue at the measurement site. A gauge or scale may be provided in order to obtain a reading as to the distance separating the clamping surfaces. The gauge may take the form of an arcuate bar carried by one of the legs of the skin tension measuring apparatus. Unfortunately, the conventional skinfold skin tension measuring apparatus cannot be used to determine skin tension.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an apparatus for measuring the tension in a portion of skin at a body site.